France has opened the world’s first solar panel road in a village in Normandy.

A 0.6 mile route in the small village of Tourouvre-au-Perche is now covered with 2,800 square meters of electricity-generating panels. The panels were inaugurated by the ecology minister, Ségolène Royal.

The road cost £4.2m to construct and will be used by about 2,000 motorists a day during a two-year test period to see if it can generate enough energy to power street lighting in the village of 3,400 residents.

In 2014, a solar-powered cycle path was opened in Krommenie in the Netherlands. This path has generated 3,000kWh of energy. This is about enough power an average family home for a year. Yet the cost of building the path itself could have paid for 520,000kWh.

The panels were tested at four car parks across France before they were used to create the solar-powered road. The road was financed by the state and constructed by Colas.

Normandy is not known for its sunshine with Caen, the region’s political capital, enjoys only 44 days of strong sunshine a year, while Marseilles enjoys 170 days of sunshine a year.

Royal would like to see solar panels installed throughout France, with one in every 1,000km of French highway.

Many critics believe it is not a cost-effective use of public money. Marc Jedliczka, vice-president of Network for Energetic Transition (CLER) believes that while it is a technical advance, there are other priorities for renewable energy that are far more important and more cost efficient.

Panels laid flat on surfaces have been found to be less efficient than those installed on sloping areas like roofs.

Jean-Louis Bal, president of renewable energy union SER, said: “We have to look at the cost, the production [of electricity] and its lifespan. For now I don’t have the answers.”

Colas said that the panels are covered with a resin that contains fine sheets of silicon, making them tough enough to withstand all traffic, including HGVs. The company hopes to reduce the costs of production and has about 100 other projects for solar-panelled roads, half in France and half abroad.

Ariana Marisol is a contributing staff writer for REALfarmacy.com. She is an avid nature enthusiast, gardener, photographer, writer, hiker, dreamer, and lover of all things sustainable, wild, and free. Ariana strives to bring people closer to their true source, Mother Nature. She graduated The Evergreen State College with an undergraduate degree focusing on Sustainable Design and Environmental Science. Follow her adventures on Instagram.